Elliotte Friedman brought up Philadelphia Flyers forward Matt Read in his 30 Thoughts column on Monday. With Read battling back from a rib injury, Friedman wrote about how teams respect the player’s toughness. Given that Philadelphia is looking for help on the back-end, Friedman stated without actually stating that any deal with the Calgary Flames for Jay Bouwmeester would likely include Read, via CBC.ca:

If Philly does any business with Calgary, know that Flames assistant GM John Weisbrod has chased Read for years.

Shero claims the Pens will make a deal only if the right offer comes along, but that hasn’t stopped the speculation that Calgary’s Jarome Iginla, even at this point in his career, would be a nice fit in Pittsburgh — especially if he landed on Sidney Crosby’s wing.

Keep in mind that Shero has never been shy to pull the trigger on significant deals before. Among the players the Penguins GM has swapped for over the years — Marian Hossa and James Neal.

The Pens have now won eight consecutive games, thanks to a 3-0 victory over the Rangers on Saturday afternoon. Whatever happens in the next 17 days, we do know this: They won’t be sellers.

There are some interesting potential free agents out there as the deadline approaches including forwards Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames, Mike Ribeiro of the Washington Capitals and defenceman Mark Streit of the New York Islanders, but the problem as the trade deadline nears is going to be separating the buyers from the sellers. With teams playing just a 48-game schedule there is not going to be the same kind of separation you would have near the end of an 82-game schedule.

Another possibility is Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Kris Letang. He’s got one year left on his contract after this season and is due for a big raise from his current deal, which carries a cap hit of $3.5 million. With centre Evgeni Malkin also coming up as a potential UFA after next season, is Penguins general manager Ray Shero going to be able to keep everybody happy?

The Penguins may again me be looking to strike before it by moving a young defenseman.

Simon Despres, 21, is available – and the Columbus Blue Jackets’ three senior members of hockey operations attended the Penguins’ 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at Consol Energy Center on Monday night.

New general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, his assistant Chris MacFarland, and senior advisor Craig Patrick – who preceded Ray Shero as Penguins general manager – watched the game from the media level.

Don’t be surprised if the Pittsburgh Penguins get Sidney Crosby a little help.

While the Penguins’ captain is doing a good job setting a torrid scoring pace this season, Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero is expected to go shopping for another winger and possibly a defenceman before the April 3 trade deadline.

The 22-year-old O’Reilly, the last restricted free agent who remains unsigned, is demanding more than $3.5 million than Matt Duchene is making with the Avs. It should be noted O’Reilly made $900,000 last year on an entry-level deal.

O’Reilly 18 goals and 37 assists for 55 points in 81 games last season. With centre Jason Spezza gone until at least the start of the playoffs after back surgery, the Sens could use that point production.

But if the Senators are going to make a deal for O’Reilly, Murray would be required to give up more than he’s prepared to give. The Avs are looking for a roster player who can help right now, a prospect and a draft pick.

Expect O’Reilly to land somewhere as the Avs try to clear up this sour relationship. The Leafs, Bruins, Rangers and Penguins have all held talks with Sherman, who would like to send him to an eastern conference team.

Penguins GM Ray Shero scouted the game. Yes, the Penguins play in Winnipeg on Friday, but the Penguins are looking for a top-6 forward and may have been looking at Pierre-Marc Bouchard and/or Setoguchi. Could help explain why the Wild had to get Bouchard back into the lineup.

If management does not believe first-year pro Beau Bennett — who seems capable of filling a top-six role for a lot of years — is ready to contribute now, it should seriously consider giving up some of the assets it has hoarded (to wit, promising young defensemen) over the past few years to acquire a winger who can have an impact on one of the top two lines.

= Hearing a lot of rumblings about the Penguins looking for a winger. Nothing close yet, but know that D Simon Despres can be had for the right price. Question becomes is that price a veteran winger with a short-term future or if the scouting staff has identified the next James Neal and now GM Ray Shero is set on trying to bring said player to Pittsburgh.

Sidney Crosby received quite a workout in Colorado’s high altitude last week.

His mind was working overtime, too.

Crosby spoke at length with a number of NHL stars while working out in Vail and sounds closer to playing in Europe.

“Right now for me, it’s more of a week-to-week thing,” Crosby said. “Each week you want to figure out if discussions are heating up. If things get close, that’s great. If things are far apart again, that’s probably not a good sign, so we’ll see what happens.”

Crosby has acknowledged he almost certainly will play in Europe but only if he senses the entire NHL season will be lost.

“Guys around the league are trying to figure out what they’re going to do,” Crosby said. “That’s something I realized in Colorado. A lot of guys are on the fence about going over to Europe or staying here. Everyone has their structure, their routine. And the season is supposed to be starting now. Now everyone has to decide what to do.”

Crosby worked out in Colorado with NHL stars such as Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos and Phoenix’s Keith Yandle.

NHL, union to meet Wednesday

The NHL and its union will resume labor talks Wednesday in New York, but core economics will not be part of the agenda, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Monday.

Top officials from the league and its Players Association have met several times over the past few weeks, but the sides have not made habit of talking about revenue definitions or split among owners and players since the league enacted a lockout Sept. 15.

The regular season was set to open Thursday, with the Penguins to play their first game Friday at Consol Energy Center. However, the first two weeks of the season have been cancelled, and the league has not ruled out additional schedule modification in the near future.

Talks between the sides broke down last week after discussions were held in Toronto.